Chocolate Brownie Cookies: Sharing is more than just caring

I've noticed a disturbing trend in recent months. People are reluctant to share and I'm not speaking about children; I'm speaking about ADULTS. Fully grown, semi-mature human beings are unwilling to share. Of course there are things that people share too much about - their lives, their bathroom habits, the ways they like to eat their potato chips, but there are those things that we should share MORE of that people have stopped sharing.

Goodness.

Kindness.

Sound advice.

Good ideas.

I recently received a message from a woman I don't know well who messaged saying she wondered how I could willingly share my curriculum enrichment ideas with everyone on my Facebook instead of saving it for myself. She thought it odd that I'd like to SHARE some new ideas I've had with other people, which I do in hopes that other people will find it useful. The messaging conversation ended with her pointing out that I was taking away an "edge" that I could offer my own children in order to help other people. I think essentially she wanted me to share with HER but not everyone else. She wanted to pick my brain but not have my brain available to everyone.

The conversation disturbed me for a little bit but then I shrugged it off. I know for a fact that by sharing interesting math ideas or analogy workbooks with the parents of the friends of my children that I am, in fact, HELPING my own kids. I'd like everyone to have an opportunity to elevate and challenge their thinking about teaching and learning and I know that in doing so, everyone benefits, including my own children, and not to their detriment. (Currently the math book idea I'm sharing is this one, inexpensive and a fun way to spend time with your kids.)

Sharing IS caring. Sharing benefits not only the recipient but the giver as well. Sharing is far more of an exciting trend than "getting the edge" or "keeping a secret" for myself. So with that - I'm sharing this fantastic cookie recipe that has blown the minds of everyone who has eaten it. It's a recipe that I'm happy to say comes from a local SF phenomenal pastry chef, Belinda Leong, who has a stunning patisserie in the city. The trek is well worth it and the pastries immaculately made and presented. She shared this recipe to Food and Wine, which I made more than a few times in the past weekend, and now I'm sharing it with you. I could hoard it, keep it to myself, charge people double in order to have the honor to TASTE these babies, but I share it. So that you can enjoy it at home. So that you can make it at home and share with others.

These cookies are fudgy, gooey, moist, delicious, and like a brownie but in a cookie. The major issue is timing as you have to freeze the dough in order for it to be workable in the oven, and it has to rest on cookie sheets before you move them around. My recipe version has slight adjustments to deal with the home baker, and photos to accompany to help you along your way.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies
adapted from Food and Wine Magazine and Belinda Leong
Makes 3 dozen cookies (recipe easily doubled)

Ingredients
2 ⅔ cups semisweet chocolate chips (or a mix of bittersweet and semisweet) (16 ozs of chocolate chips. Most bags are 12 oz, so you’ll need a bag and ⅔ cups more. I use the extra large bag of semisweet from Costco.)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick of butter)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon espresso powder (optional, but really brings out the chocolate)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
One 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips (to be folded into the chocolate cookie dough at the end)

Method
In a bowl, place 16 oz (2 ⅔ cups of chocolate chips) and ½ stick of butter in a bowl to be set over boiling water. Melt chocolate and butter together until smooth and uniform, about 8 minutes. The mixture will not be runny but more thick and creamy.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, on medium speed, beat together eggs and sugar until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract. Fold in chocolate mixture. Add espresso powder. Carefully fold in flour mixture. Finally add chocolate chips. Stir carefully. Pour mixture into a shallow dish and cover and freeze for about 1 hour. If you’d prefer to bake mixture off another day, then simply cover and place dough in the refrigerator and it will be ready to scoop after it has chilled.

Preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Scoop 2 tablespoon-sized mounds of dough, placing them 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until cookies are dry around the edges and crinkled on top. Allow cookies to rest in baking pan for 10 minutes before removing them carefully to a cooling rack.

People will be tempted to eat them warm. Let them. They also taste amazing fully cooled. If you happen to have some leftover, let them fully cool and store them in an airtight container.
Printable recipe